Saturday, January 11, 2014

These grain-free cookies do not rely on a secret bean or legume ingredient for their success. Rather, a combination of almond butter and coconut flour stands in for the wheat flour (and butter, for that matter). I was tempted to try these because I really wanted a Christmas cookie that my celiac uncle-in-law could eat since I'm unwilling to convert my traditional cookie recipes in any way. Now he can eat these as well as my homemade toffee while the rest of us indulge in the wheat-based cookies.I discovered these via Texanerin. When I first made her version just as plain, un-filled cookies, I wasn't super excited as I tasted them right out of the oven. They were so ethereal that they weren't very satisfying and the flavor was elusive. Then I tasted them a day later, when they had gained some substance, and I was hooked. I felt they needed more molasses, though, so I went back to Texanerin's source recipe. The flavor was much more to my liking, but the extra molasses made them fall apart when I tried to remove them from the baking sheet.Today I created my own amalgamation of the two recipes in double-batch form, since I wanted to make a bunch and freeze them to use in lunches. I'm pretty delighted with the results and we are stocked for a good while if I can keep my hands off them. The dough is super sticky, there's no way around it, but I had good luck using my small scoop dipped in water.INGREDIENTS2/3 c. coconut flour2 tsp baking soda1 tsp ground ginger1 tsp ground cinnamon1/4 to 1/2 tsp ground allspice1/2 tsp sea salt if using unsalted almond butter1 15- or 16-ounce jar roasted unsweetened almond butter3 TBSP unsulphured molasses4 eggs1 1/3 c. coconut (aka palm) sugarDIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking trays with parchment or Silpat

Stir together the dry ingredients in a small bowl

Put the almond butter, molasses, eggs and coconut sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. You could mix by hand but it would be tough. I think that the almond butter would make the motor of a food processor balk

Beat the wet ingredients until thoroughly combined

Slowly add dry ingredients and mix until blended

Scoop walnut-sized balls onto the baking tray, with about 1/2 inch all around to allow for spreading. You can use a portion scoop or two spoons or wet hands. Remember that the dough will be very sticky

Bake for 8-12 minutes until the cookies have puffed and the edges are firm. The cookies are likely to crack (hence the name crinkle) and may do so more upon cooling

Let cool for a few minutes on the baking tray then cool on a rack. To freeze, lay the finished cookies on a baking tray in a single layer and freeze it. Then you can out the cookies in a freezer bag and they won't stick together. Makes about 3 doz cookies